This cupcake is a tribute to my dad, Happy Birthday Daddy-o! He turns... errr... I'm not quite sure how old, but do details matter? This was the perfect cupcake to celebrate his special day, a Boston raised man eating a Boston cream inspired cupcake. I'm genius. (Secretly I've been craving Boston Cream Doughnuts and this was my excuse to get my fix.. but once again, details shemtails).

The ganache has not quite set in this picture, this is why it's still so glossy.

This is what it will look like once the ganache has set onto the cupcake, a little firmer but still glossy.

This cupcake is to die for. Literally. I was only going to eat a half, but then I snuck back and ate the remaining half. And then I had to stop myself from eating another. But I did eat that smudge of ganache pictured above, innocently sitting on the silver pater. That's right, I scooped it up with my finger and I ate it. And I'm not ashamed. It was perfect. Vanilla Pudding (filling) Ingredients:1 package vegan pudding mix, like this one which can be found (usually) at Whole Foods Plant-based milk, as per instructed on the box of the vanilla mix

Ganache Ingredients: 1/3 cup unsweetened cashew or almond milk 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, (Ghirardelli semisweet are vegan but their bittersweet are not)Make the Vanilla Pudding Filling:Follow directions on the back of the pudding box. Do this before making the cupcakes because the pudding usually has to set for a minimum of 60-90 minutes.

Bake the cupcakes:Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a muffin tin with some coconut oil, set aside. Whisk the plant-based milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to allow it to "curdle". It may not look curdled, but this is crucial so just trust the process... Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl, then gently mix. Whisk together the plant-based milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla extract and vanilla bean in a large bowl. Take the sifted flour mixture and resift, this time into the bowl with the liquid mixture. Mix until no large lumps remain.

Fill cupcake holes 2/3 of the way up and bake for 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.Make the Ganache: In a small pot on the stove bring the plant-based milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add in the chocolate. Stir for about 30 seconds, remove from heat and continue to stir until the chocolate has completely melted. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before using it.

Assemble:Your cupcakes should be completely cooled before trying to assemble them.